A book gets better as one gets to appreciate the characters of the main players and the context of the story more. Thanks to a number of inspiring guides that helped me through the different phases of my scientific career and the insight that comes with the years, I slowly start to get a picture of how the vessel wall might actually function. And the longer I look at the picture, the more fascinating it becomes. What could be better then working with a multidisciplinary team to elucidate nature's secrets and subsequently use them to improve medical care? The title of his inaugural lecture was ‘Over de vaatwand en het Beekbergerwoud'.